"Class, please turn to 2 Kings 12. Today we're going to read the story of Joash." An audible groan ran across the room.

"Oh great...not another timeline of the kings! Booooring!" Abigail D. whispered as she reluctantly turned to 2 Kings 12.

Abigail Dykstra, a Dordt College student, reflects on the reality of Bible-class-boredom that has come to plague Christian schools. I too am a product of 15, going on 16, years of Christian education, and I can relate to students who get bored with memorizing Psalm 23 or performing the story of Mary and Joseph. Read more.

First, some prophetic questions around the topic of teaching Bible:

Of course, anyone (who is a Christian) can teach Bible! True? While it may not be stated, we are sometimes guilty of assuming that little or no training is needed to teach Bible to students. Why do we not value the teaching of Bible more? When was the last time your staff spent a staff development day on the teaching of Bible? Read more.

Growing up in a Christian home, teaching Bible in elementary and high school, and raising four children in the fear of the LORD, has provided me with some insight into the teaching of the Word. As a teacher I often thought: how can these students profit from their study of the Bible? Is the Word really being studied in this course or are we only studying about the Word? Do we have all kinds of rabbit trails, traditions, denominational distinctives that cloud the Word of God and hinder us from putting it into practice? These questions spurred me on to look at several groups of Christian schools. Read more.

Looking for ways to help your students increase their understanding and use a Biblical perspective?

Here's a list of 10 ideas...

Read more.

She was very quiet and reserved when she first came to us. She was quite petite and her face looked tiny beneath a thick fringe of bangs. She was uncertain of herself, but wanted so much to do well. She would patiently wait her turn for help and was grateful for the assistance we could give her. She always seemed to be careful about not monopolizing too much of our time, concerned that others have the opportunity to get help from us as well. Read more.

If you are the teacher who is tech-savvy enough to logon to a blog such as the one you are reading now, it's time that you have a website of your own. A classroom website is an excellent place to keep students and their parents aware of class activities, inform them of upcoming events, remind them of class policies, and—my favorite—share pictures of school happenings. The good news: it is getting easier and easier to create your own "Home on the 'Net", and you don't even need to learn any arcane computer programming languages to do so. Read more.

I remember sitting in an education class in college when my professor said that to be a teacher, you need to be a scrounger. I remember this statement because it shocked me. I was under the impression as an undergrad that one day I would enter my idealized, abundantly supplied classroom with an incredible curriculum and a sufficient budget to meet my every whim. Read more.

Classroom grading is one of the best-kept and closely guarded secrets in many teachers' lives. As teachers, we somehow arrive at our own grading systems by one of several methods: trial and error, copying a mentor, or reflecting on how we were assessed as students. If we were to examine a teacher's grading practices, I am reasonably sure that we would gain a pretty clear picture of that teacher's philosophy about kids and education. Read more.

When I first transitioned from teaching middle school math to science seven years ago, I lectured—a lot. I felt so much pressure to "cover" massive amounts of content; my teaching practice was mostly lecture. Of course, my students complained, but what was I to do? I had content to cover! At least there was one thing they didn't mind: I used presentation software to prepare my lectures. Presentation software—such as the ubiquitous PowerPoint and its slightly nicer, easier-to-use, Macintosh-flavored cousin, Keynote—offers a technological solution for producing visual aides for lectures. Read more.

For several years I have marched as part of fall and spring convocations at the college where I teach. As commencements go, I imagine ours is much the same as most across North America. The academic officers and president of the college, along with board members or regents enter first, complete in their accoutrements. The faculty follows, position in line dictated by seniority and level of degree, again sporting the colors of their discipline. Not understanding the protocol early on, I made the mistake of being at the wrong end of the line, the senior end, but was quickly redirected to the appropriate position where I am quite comfortable. However, regardless of the pomp and regalia, the past two years have become something of a sobering humorous reminder of persistence and success. Read more.

Why? To Increase Student Application of a Biblical Perspective to Course Content.

Imagine.

Every student in every class—proficiently applying a biblical perspective.

Imagine.

If this happened, how would this affect your students' understanding of the importance of looking at all of life through the lens of Scripture? How would this affect your students' ability to impact the world for Christ?

If this happened, how would parents respond? How would your colleagues respond? How would your board respond? How would this affect the achievement of your school's outcomes and mission. Read more.

"Doing" report cards has usually been an emotional time for me as a teacher. Looking back, I wonder if I was too concerned about accurately calculating grades, rather than determining them. Too hesitant to have my professional judgment override numerical data that too easily could be defended. Too absorbed in the burden of the task; not enough in the blessing, as suggested by Elaine Brouwer. Read more.